Broadway Legend Christine Ebersole Takes The Stage In Scottsdale

Two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole will take the stage as a last-minute replacement for Laura Benanti at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, March 17, at 8 p.m., when she and pianist/commentator Seth Rudetsky perform songs from the great musicals.

Ebersole, who won Tonys for her roles in Grey Gardens and 42nd Street and was in the cast of such Oscar-winning films as "Amadeus" and "Tootsie," will step in for Benanti, whose young daughter was hospitalized this week with the flu.

The Broadway legend and Rudetsky will appear as part of the series "Mark Cortale Presents Broadway @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts" in the Center's Virginia G. Piper Theater. The series features cabaret-style concerts by Broadway stars, accompanied by Rudetsky and mixed with candid showbiz stories.

Ebersole mostly recently starred on Broadway in War Paint in her Tony-nominated role as Elizabeth Arden, opposite fellow Tony nominee Patti LuPone as Helena Rubinstein. She won her second Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as virtually every Off-Broadway award, for what she has called her "dual role of a lifetime" as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beal in Grey Gardens.

Her first Tony for Best Lead Actress in a Musical was for her portrayal of Dorothy Brock in the revival of 42nd Street, and she has had leading roles in On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma, Camelot, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Steel Magnolias, the recent revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit and Dinner at Eight, for which she received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations.

Concert appearances include the concert version of the opera The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Symphony's tribute to Leonard Bernstein, the Boston Pops' concert version of A Little Night Music, and PBS concerts Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty. Television credits include appearances on Ugly Betty, Law and Order SVU, Will and Grace, The Nanny, Murphy Brown, Ally McBeal and The Colbert Report.

Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's On Broadway, as well as the host of Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Stars. He began his career as pit pianist for such shows as Ragtime, Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera. He found he had a knack for commentary, and expanded his work to include arts broadcast journalism. His radio shows feature interviews with major Broadway stars and deconstructions of major musicals. He also writes the Onstage & Backstage column for Playbill magazine, and wrote and co-starred in the musical Disaster! on Broadway.

In June of 2016, Rudetsky and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of "What The World Needs Now" with Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King and Audra McDonald. The benefit song went to No. 1 on iTunes, and has raised more than $100,000 to benefit shooting victims at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. On Inauguration Day 2017, the couple started Concert For America, an evening of entertainment with stars.

Through its partnership with the City of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts (formerly known as Scottsdale Cultural Council) creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through three acclaimed divisions - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and Scottsdale Public Art - serving more than 400,000 participants annually.

Since 1975, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has provided a stage for a wide range of artists and genres, creating shared, inspiring experiences for the community that celebrate artistic excellence and cultural awareness. Today one of the premier performing-arts halls in the western United States, the Center presents a diverse season of music, dance, theater, comedy and film from around the world.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is located at 7380 E. Second St. in downtown Scottsdale. Free parking is available in the public parking garage located to the west of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Wells Fargo Avenue. Additional free parking is available at the Old Town Parking Corral at East Second Street and Brown Avenue and at the Civic Center Library parking garage located on Drinkwater Boulevard at East Second Street.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers performance accommodations to enhance audience members' experience, including: American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation or live audio description with two weeks advance notice. Assistive-listening devices and wheelchair seating are also available. Visit www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/visit/accessibility/ or contact the Member and Patron Services Box Office at 480-499-TKTS (8587) [TDD: 480-874-4694] for further details. Please inquire about services when ordering tickets.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers a variety of ticket discounts for Scottsdale Arts members at the Friends level and above, groups of 10 or more and those purchasing packages to four or more events in one order. The Center provides free tickets to selected events for eligible students, teachers and active-duty military and veterans, and 50-percent off tickets to selected events for patrons 29 and under. Visit www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/visit/tickets-discounts/ or call 480-499-TKTS (8587) for more information.

The award-winning Store at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts supports the mission and diverse programs of the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts. The Store's unique selection of merchandise includes artist-made jewelry, stylish furnishings for home and office, unique creations by Arizona artists, fair-trade and upcycled/recycled global crafts, music, books, greeting cards and imaginative toys. Purchases are tax free, and members receive a 10 percent discount. Gift wrapping and shipping are also available. The Store is open seven days a week: Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon - 5 p.m.; and throughout most evening events. Phone: 480-874-4644.

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